Dennis J. McTaggart started life on a farm in the Gippsland Lakes area. He left school at 16 and moved to Traralgon where he worked in electrical retail. His thirst for adventure saw him join the local "skin diving club" where he was offered a job on an abalone boat out of Mallacoota. Dennis soon took advantage of the affordable abalone licenses in New South Wales and started diving out of Eden. Dennis spent the next years working in under water construction and on building sites all over Australia, eventually ending up in Tasmania diving for abalone. He suffered nitrogen narcosis (the bends) which partly paralysed him. It was during his recovery that Dennis started to recount his adventures. Born in 1950, Dennis has seen it all. In his first novel Cold Gold 1, he shares with us intrigue and wonder which formed part of his life. Get an inside into Dennis' amazing life when you follow Teddy and his gang of abalone poachers on their wild ride. See what happen when good, honest blokes stray into the murky dark side of life. Dennis is a modern, medical miracle. His recovery defied the odds and medical prognosis. He now leads a relatively normal life for a sexagenarian, holed up in the fabled high country in Victoria, Australia.